The “Mindful Researchers” initiative emerged in August 2020, by a collaboration of participants in the ESRI 2020 hosted by Mind & Life Europe. We are an independent grassroots community based on a shared intention –
to explore how our professional and research life can be integrated with our contemplative life, in all its possible meanings.
Being aware that this is a difficult path to follow within traditional academia, we aim to offer support to each other, to hold this inquiry as a living question and to put it into practice together.
We aim to cultivate a space for collective inquiry, shared practice, and collaborative projects – an ecosystem or ‘living lab’ supporting the emergence of a new generation of researchers who pursue and co-create innovative and rigorous scientific/academic work rooted in genuine embodied, situated, contemplative practice.
In this way, we also intend to support and foster a beneficial transformation towards a more compassionate, generous, kind, collaborative, ethical academic culture.
Who are we?
The “Mindful Researchers” are mostly young or early-stage professionals, largely but not exclusively academics, who wish to live and work in an environment that welcomes our passionate interests and supports our preference for contemplative / phenomenological, participatory and exploratory approaches.
We envision collaborative ways of science which emphasise co-created projects, including the process of discovering what (research) questions we consider as most important to address.
The “gardeners” team
The “gardeners” are a more active sub-group of our community that meets on a weekly basis in order to practice together, listen to the community’s emerging needs and ideas, co-facilitate our community events, co-create new formats, and develop the Mindful Researchers project and community further.
Currently and formerly active “gardeners” include:
- Annika Lübbert
- Dara James
- Enrico Fucci
- Francesco Noera
- Mary Rees
- Nikola Winter
- Willeke Rietdijk
- Wolfgang Lukas
Our doors are open – please let us know if you’d like to join and co-create with us!
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the Yoga Science Foundation and Mind & Life Europe for funding, mentoring and other support.
We also thank the Mind & Life Institute, as well as many individuals who have inspired and supported our development in various ways.